Microsoft released Skype for Windows 5.11 beta earlier last week, which brings the first step in integrating Skype into the Microsoft ecosystem – by allowing users to connect their Skype account with their Microsoft account. By doing so, users will be able to see and instant message their Messenger contacts within the Skype client (voice and video calls are not supported across the two networks). Unfortunately, given it’s in beta form, some users have noticed that once they have linked their Skype account and Microsoft account together, there is no way to unlink them. WinUnleaked.info managed to obtain confirmation with Skype support regarding this issue:

Unfortunately it is currently not possible for you to unlink your Microsoft account from a Skype account. Nor it is possible to link together multiple Microsoft and Skype accounts. In case you would like to link your Microsoft account with a different Skype account, then currently this can only be done by contacting customer service and requesting your account to be unlinked.

Unfortunately currently it is indeed only possible to see whether you have linked your account with Microsoft account or not. You cannot see what Microsoft account your Skype account is linked with. As this is still a beta version we cannot say at this time, whether or when you can see from your account in the future to which Microsoft account your Skype account i s linked with.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Indeed, currently you can only check whether you have connected a Microsoft account to your Skype account or not, but it does not show which account it is connected with or any option to unlink them. You can see this by visiting https://secure.skype.com/portal/profile, as shown below:

Note that this connection seems to done on the Skype account side only, and at this stage we don’t see it in the Connected Services list (which can be viewed at http://profile.live.com/services) on Microsoft account. However, LiveSide has learnt that Skype will become a Connected Service for your Microsoft account soon, as shown in the screenshot shown below:

By adding Skype as a Connected Service to your Microsoft account, you’ll be able to IM, voice and video call your Skype contacts on Outlook.com (or any ex-Windows Live web services such as SkyDrive.com). Below is an excerpt from WinSupersite about how this works:

In the months ahead, Microsoft will integrate a new Skype web service directly into Outlook.com. So in addition to all the Windows Live, Facebook, Twitter, and other account integration bits, we’re going to get Skype integration, too, and it will all work from the web, with no PC-based client required. This will include presence (as with Messenger, a way for your contacts to see whether your online or not) but also Skype-based text, audio, and video chat. So in addition to clicking a Write on wall link, or whatever, to interact with Facebook, you’ll be able to call your contacts from People too, using Skype. (Your Skype contacts list will also be aggregated into this service.) This will work for your contacts using Skype on Windows or other platforms, Skype on the web, Skype on Facebook, or Skype integrated into Outlook 2013. Powerful stuff.

Whilst this all sounds great, questions remain on what Microsoft’s strategy with Skype and Messenger are in the future? Are they intending to keep both networks running, or is Messenger going to remain as a text-based IM network only? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!